Pope Francis invites old friend for popemobile ride

Fr. Fabian Baez (back left) was invited to ride in the back of the popemobile after being spotted by Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square Jan. 8, 2014. Credit: Kyle Burkhart/CNA.

Vatican City, Jan 9, 2014 / 04:03 pm (CNA).-
Pope Francis welcomed an old friend – Father Fabian Baez – to ride on his popemobile after spotting the priest in the crowd at the Jan. 8 General Audience at St. Peter's Square.

The Argentinean priest has been friends with Pope Francis since they worked together in Buenos Aires.

According to the newspaper La Nacion, Fr. Baez was able to get past a security barrier to get close to the Pope. He called out to the Holy Father, who turned and saw him.

“Are you with somebody or alone?” Pope Francis asked. “No, I'm alone,” the priest replied, to which Francis said, “Come on, get in!”

Fr. Baez was shocked, as were the papal security guards, who once again witnessed the Holy Father break with protocol and establish his own papal style.

Pope Francis asked for the popemobile to stop so his friend could get in, and then jokingly told the priest, “The photo is going to go around the world.”

The popemobile continued making the rounds in St. Peter's as Fr. Baez sat next to the Holy Father.

Fr. Baez describes himself on his Twitter account as “a priest from Buenos Aires. My mission is to shepherd. I am on Twitter because I want you to draw close to God.”

“I am going to change my biography. The poor priest who climbed into the popemobile today with #PapaFrancisco,” he tweeted after the event.

Editor's note, Jan. 17: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Fr. Baez' first name as Fabrian, rather than Fabian.